New Years with Halt and Will
by flaminglake
Summary: It's New Year's Eve in Araluen. A one shot to wish you a happy New Years and all the best for 2013.


**New Years with Halt and Will**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice. **

"Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on!"

What had he been thinking, Halt mused to himself, when he gave his apprentice the left over candy canes. It was all Crowley's fault, the corps commandant had given his rangers a box of lollies for christmas. In other words, he'd given an over enthusiastic apprentice a permanent sugar high for the past week.

"Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on!"

Since Halt didn't have a taste for sweets, his apprentice had ended up with his share. What had actually happened was that Halt had hidden the lollies under his bed, his ranger sixth sense warning him that cheerful young men and sugar was a bad mix. Alas, Will had an inborn skill of finding anything that would annoy his mentor, and the candy had been rapidy devoured.

"Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on!"

The last of it was finished earlier this evening. Unable to force his bouncing-off-the-walls apprentice to bed, Halt had left him to his own devices. After all, Will was seventeen now, and old enough not to completely damage the property when Halt retired to his room for sleep.

"Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on!"

The cabin was, indeed, intact. Halt's temper was the only thing threatening to burst. He sat up, tossing his blankets off, fixing a death glare on the young man who was hopping up and down at the entrance to Halt's room.

"What?" Halt spat. Will blinked, his eyes wide like a possoms.

"It's eleven thirty," Will explained.

"So it is," Halt growled. "The middle of the night. Now that we have that established, perhaps you might go to bed and leave me to sleep?"

"But Haaaalt! It's _eleven thirty_."

"That's an interesting fact. Here's another one- you're in my room. You do know that there's a punishment for people who step into my room."

Will hastily backed up. He rocked on his heels and grinned. "Now I'm not! See, that's the line where your room begins and the hall ends. That means I'm safe." He poked his tongue out cheekily. "I'm safe! You can't hurt me!"

"We'll see about that," Halt growled. He deliberately reached for his saxe. It was always close to hand.

"Good, good! You have to get up! Up you get, Halt!"

"Trust me Will, you're not going to like it when I'm 'up'."

"Oh hurry up Halt!" Will ignored the threat. Or maybe he just didn't register it through his sugar overload.

"Why do you want me to get up?" Halt snapped. "Do you want to have your backside tanned? Are you keen to spend the night in a tree?"

"No no! It's because it's eleven thirty-oh," Will glanced at the water clock on the wall. "Eleven thirty five. Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

"Hurry and do what?" Halt's voice was steadily rising in volune. His forehead crinkled with rage, his eyebrows low over his glittering eyes.

"Go to the courtyard," Will explained.

"Why, by Gorlags beard, would I want to do that?"

"Because everyone's going to be there!" Will said. "To count down the new year!"

Halt scowled. "There's nothing special about the new year. It's a normal day, save the calender changes. Then again, the calender date changes everyday, so really, it is just a normal day."

Will pouted a little. "This is exactly what your attitude was towards christmas. You enjoyed that in the end!"

No, Halt had not enjoyed suffering through his apprentice screaming out carols, nor had he enjoyed the unwelcome surprise visit from his ex-apprentice who joined in the carols, or an even more unwelcome surprise visit from the corps commandant (with the candy) who then prompted both current and old apprentices to put on a christmas skit, which Halt had been forced to sit down and watch as they struggled to read their lines. Halt hadn't enjoyed it at all. In fact, he had been most relieved when it was over.

"Come on, please!" Will begged. "It'll be so much fun!" Halt doubted that.

"Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please."

Halt groaned. Why, oh why, had he not thrown out the candy canes? He should have disposed of all the sugar as soon as he got it.

""Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, puh-lease! Puh-lease! Puh-leeeeeeaase!"

"Oh alright!" Halt thundered. "Fine, we'll go to your ridiculous new years welcoming at the courtyard!"

"Thank you Halt!" Will cried. He threw his hands up in the air, twirling on the spot. "We're going to the couuuuurtyard. The couuuurtyard! The couuuurtyard!"

"Only if you shut up!" Halt bellowed. "You can't eat anything that contains sugar for a week, and I don't want to hear another word out of you for the rest of the evening!"

"But-"

"Not a peep! Those are my conditions."

Will sighed. "Fine. You're so grumpy, Halt-" he broke of when he saw his mentor's face. "Sorry, no more talking," he said, holding a finger to his lips to hush himself.

"Good," Halt muttered. "Now get out of my room so I can get dressed. Then we'll go."

Will, who couldn't stay quiet for long, with or without a sugar rush, said, "just hurry, it's already eleven forty so we only have twenty minutes to get there," as he left the room.

Halt took his time about getting dressed. When he emerged from his bredroom, he noticed his apprentice was perched on the couch, twitching, about to explode with impatience.

"Why'd you take so long?" he complained. "Now we only have ten minutes to get there. I knew I should have woken you up earlier."

"Relax," Halt said wearily. "We can be at the courtyard in five. And what did I say about not talking?"

They mounted up and trotted towards Castle Redmont. Will twisted the reins in his hands, fidgeting in the saddle. To his credit, he didn't talk anymore. Halt rolled his eyes, vaguelly concerned that his apprentice might faint from the anticipation. Himself, he didn't see what all the fuss was about.

At the courtyard, people were buzzing about. Torches surrounded the area. The baron was seated on a pedastal with his wife and personal servants. Will dismounted, mingling with the crowd. Halt lost sight of him for a moment, then saw him with a tall blonde girl. That was Pauline's protegee, he remembered, Alyss.

As he thought of the graceful courier, he noticed her approaching him. He swung down from the saddle to greet her.

"Halt," Pauline said. "What a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect you to come to such festivities."

Halt frowned to himself. Was it really so surprising? Had he become that jaded?

"Will wanted to come," he supplied, deciding that if the woman wanted to believe him so ill tempered he couldn't bear a celebration, that was fine by him. Pauline was nothing but trouble anyway. She always made him feel uncomfortable, and Halt didn't like feeling so awkward, so disarmed, as if she could see right through him.

"How nice of you to take him," Pauline smiled. "Alyss wanted to come as well." He sometimes suspected she indulged in a little teasing. Just another reason to dislike being around her. Yet he didn't- he didn't dislike her. Honestly, he wwas already lighter hearted. Maybe the new year had been worth waking up for after all.

"Will's doing well," Pauline said.

Halt nodded immediately. "He is. We think he'll go far. He's only in his third year and he's already as clever and almost as skilled as some in their last year."

"Still, you wouldn't let him graduate early when Horace was knighted," Pauline pointed out.

"Of course not," Halt shrugged. "There's no substitute for experience, and he needs plenty more of it before he's ready for his own fief. Besides, while his archery is exceptional for his age, his knife work has something to be desired." He realised he'd been rambling and fell silent.

"Alyss is doing well too," he observed. Pauline smiled.

"Indeed she is."

Unconsciously, they both turned their heads to study their apprentices. Will and Alyss didn't noticed, they were chatting away to each other as old friends did. They were also holding hands as young people who were a bit more than friends but hadn't quite figured that out did. Halt and Pauline both let smiles cross their faces.

"I'm glad you came," Pauline said quietly. She took his hand in hers, holding it as their pupils were doing. Halt marvelled at how soft and smooth her skin was. He remembered holding hands with her when they were younger. Back when the world was fresh and new, and there seemed nothing more important than being with a beautiful woman. That was before the duties of a ranger caught up with him, and he became accustomed to being alone.

"Attention everyone!" Baron Arald stood up. He gave a brief speech about how good the year had been, highlighting a particularly worthwhile harvest and the excellent efforts of the new graduates. He had a water clock with him, and he held it, waiting for the countdown to begin.

The crowd leaned forward, couples wrapping their arms around each other, children gripping their parents' hands, friends standing shoulder to shoulder. With a wide grin, Arald yelled, "Ten!"

The crowd joined in. Some shouted, some whispered. Some, like Halt, grumbled the numbers. Others, like Pauline and Alyss, had an almost songlike quality to their voices as they chanted along.

"Nine!"

Acting on impulse, Halt pulled Pauline closer to him. He was conscious of Will and Alyss nearby, staring into each others eyes. He recognised those around him whom he had helped in the past, those he had spoken to, those he had worked with. Rodney, Chubb, Nigel, Will's wardmates George and Jenny. He had a brief moment of nostalgia at the years that had gone by with these people, in this fief of Redmont.

"Eight!"

Will squeezed Alyss's hand. They shared a private grin, a moment between the two of them that no one else could share. He told himself, this years resolution would be to spend more time with Alyss. That and to pass his fourth year exams. And now that he thought about it, he could add visiting Horace on the list too, as he missed his best friend now that the knight was in castle Araluen.

"Seven!"

Miles away, in Castle Araluen, a similar countdown was taking place. They had numbers held in front of lights, casting looming shadows on the walls. King Duncan overlooked his people, pride in his gaze at the way they conducted themselves. It had been another marvellous year. He glanced around and saw his daughter with Horace, both of them smiling and laughing, though a little wistful. No doubt they were thinking of Will all the way in Redmont.

"Six!"

Even further away, across the ocean, the same countdown was roared with jugs of ale. Erak, Svengal and the other skandians were celebrating by the light of the moon, at the docks with their wolfships. Another year gone, more successful raids to come.

"Five!"

In Arrida, Seley'el'then and his people had a massive feast, with music and dancing to celebrate, for when the countdown was over. In Nihon Ja, a more quaint celebration took place, with cultured folk clinking their glasses. In Hibernia, though the kingdoms could not get along, they all shared the same countdown.

"Four!"

Gallica and the warlords ceased their fighting to wait for the new year. Celtica, the miners still rebuilding their nation after Morgarath's campaign paused in their hard work. In Picta, there were no raids on the northern araluen fiefs, only cheering. Even the temujai decided on their new year resolutions, though whether the western world would like them remained to be seen.

"Three!"

Crowley had his arm around a pretty girl he'd been seeing for a while now. He hadn't yet introduced her to Halt or anyone. They were keeping things casual, as it wasn't entirely fair on her that Crowley's thoughts were turned towards Pauline. He thought one day he could fall for this girl, when he got the elegant courier out of his mind. For now though, he would just enjoy the company.

"Two!"

Gilan shouted out with the crowd in Merric fief. He was on stage with the other craftmasters and the baron, waving around a coloured lantern. He could see three unhappy bandits tied up at the back of the crowd. They were robbers that Gilan had caught and had not yet had a chance to figure out what he would do with them. They could stay there for now, he decided. He was having too much fun to slip away.

"One!"

Banners were tossed from Castle Redmont's towers, with 'Happy New Years' written across them. Will and Alyss cheered with the crowd, the sound deafening in the night. Even if Halt had stayed home, he was sure the noise would have woken him.

But he was glad he came, he decided, as Pauline kissed his cheek and whispered, "happy new years' in his ear.

**Happy New Years everyone! 2013 is here. **


End file.
